Vava'u Islands, Tonga – Swimming with the whales in Tonga. Nothing compares with seeing a mother and calf swim by. The sight of humpbacks breaching high out of the water is both terrifying and humbling.

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A South Pacific island to suit every travel taste9 photos

Vanuatu's Tanna Island – Mount Yasur on Vanuatu's Tanna Island is arguably the most accessible volcano in the world.

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A South Pacific island to suit every travel taste9 photos

Solomon Islands – The Solomon Islands feature remnants of some of World War II's most brutal South Pacific battles.

Pentecost, Vanuatu – Boards on the towers used by Vanuatu's land divers are designed to snap and hinge downward to absorb much of the divers' G-force. The wood is freshly cut to ensure strength, while the vines are carefully measured and matched to the each diver's weight and height.

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Story highlights

Diversity of South Pacific islands lets travelers experience luxury, adventure, culture and history

Fiji's Shark Reef Marine Park is one of the few spots in the world where you can dive cage-free alongside two of the so-called "deadly three" man-eating sharks.

Here, divers get a rare chance to see bull and occasionally tiger sharks from just meters away.

The dives are controversial but proponents say the once-dead reef here is slowly being coaxed back to life by this new style of shark feeding.

Gone are the cages and instead the dive outfits have conditioned the sharks to respond to human routines.

Divers make two trips per day to the dedicated area, dubbed "the arena" by locals.

From behind the relative safety of a small coral wall, divers watch as three or four experts feed tuna heads and other fishy scraps to the sea life.

It's carefully orchestrated and tightly controlled but on a good day the water is a kaleidoscope of marine life , with visits from lemon, black tip, white tip and silvertip sharks as well as giant trevally, eagle rays, moray eels and hundreds of smaller tropical fish.

The Solomon Islands offer a doorway back to some of World War II's bitterest battles.

Remnant's of Japan's occupation and the bloody, fierce fighting that accompanied it can be found everywhere -- the main island of Guadalcanal is where the allies launched their first major offensive in the South Pacific.

Visitors can take a tour of key relics and memorial sites in the capital of Honiara, including Bloody Ridge, Mount Austen, Gifu and Henderson Airfield.

Best islandsfor hiking: Samoa

The islands of Samoa are carpeted in rainforest and peppered with volcanoes.

Upolu island's landscape is a hiker's dream and will tempt even the indolent to don walking boots.

The trek to Lake Lanotoo is tough but offers rare birdlife and a chance to dive into the crater lake at the end.

A short distance away are the 100-meter-tall Papapapai-Tai Falls.

Elsewhere, hiking in O Le Pupu-Pue National Park will take you from coast to rainforest and up Samoa's highest peak, Mount Fito.

There are also trails to Peapea Cave, an old lava tube and Togitogiga Falls.

The island of Savaii has a lot of good hikes -- the Tafua Rainforest Preserve and Cape Mulinu'u are recommended.

Mount Vaea Scenic Reserve has great trails and once you reach the peak the views over Apia Harbour and out to the South Pacific are stunning.

Treasure Island writer Robert Louis Stevenson, who had a love affair with Samoa, is buried at the summit.

Best island for wreck diving: Espirito Santo, Vanuatu

Vanuatu is littered with world class wreck dives.

The star attraction is the SS President Coolidge, a behemoth but accessible American luxury-liner-turned-military-transport that sits at around 69 feet (21 meters) below the surface, stretching down to 220 feet (67 meters).

Littered with everything from medical supplies to cooking pots, the rooms are just as they were when the ship went down in 1942 after hitting friendly mines.

Nearby is Million Dollar Point where the Americans dumped their leftover artillery at the end of the war.

The expanse of this graveyard of weaponry has to be seen to be believed.

There are other excellent dives nearby -- the MV Henry Benneaud is regarded one of the best night dives in the world while Tutuba Point is an impressive drift dive.